Our Voice: Obama’s return to Sunnylands good news for valley

TDS
10:30 p.m. PST February 6, 2014

King Abdullah II of Jordan speaks with President Barack Obama before <137,2014/02/06,Toren/c William1>holding<137> a bilateral meeting at the White House in April.(Photo: Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images)

The return of President Barack Obama to Sunnylands after just eight months is good news for the Annenberg Retreat and all of the Coachella Valley.

The second presidential visit in a year to the Rancho Mirage estate built in the 1960s by Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg bolsters its reputation as the Camp David of the West.

Conditions should be much more comfortable for the president. When Obama met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in June, the temperature reached 114. Next week, when he meets with the king of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, it should be in the high 70s. Those watching in many parts of the country will be envious.

Bordered by Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Dead Sea, Jordan is a key ally in the Middle East. Obama has known King Abdullah II since his days in the Senate. Although Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, the king appoints a prime minister and a House and Senate comprise the parliament, so there’s at least a semblance of democracy. But the king can fire officials at will.

Founded by colonial powers after World War I, Jordan declared its independence from British rule in 1946. Abdullah ascended to the throne in 1999 after the death of his father, King Hussein, who ruled for 47 years.

The United States has provided aid to Jordan since 1951. A free trade agreement between the U.S. and Jordan was established in 2000. Jordan ranks 74th among U.S. trading partners, according to the U.S. Trade Commission. In 2012, Jordan exported more than $1 billion of goods to the U.S., mostly apparel. It imported about $1.6 billion from the U.S., including aircraft parts, machinery, vehicles and cereal.

Jordan’s biggest challenge is dealing with 1 million to 2 million refugees escaping the Syrian conflict. In September, Obama announced the U.S. would provide another $339 million in humanitarian aid to the region, including $48 million for Jordan.

Jordan is a rare Arab country that is at least cordial with Israel. Abdullah has been a strong advocate for a two-state solution in the Middle East peace process. Over the past few years, he has alternatively expressed optimism and frustration over the prospects of creating of a Palestinian state, according to a Congressional Research Service backgrounder.

In March 2011, he declared, “It’s always easy to find an excuse why not to do the right thing. ... And if we continue along those lines, then we will never solve this problem. So we need leaders with courage to take the tough decisions and solve this once and for all.”

Abdullah arrived in Mexico City on Thursday and met with the Mexican-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry prior to a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. After the Sunnylands summit, he plans to go to Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional and religious leaders, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

There have been strong relations between the U.S. and Jordan for decades. Obama calls Abdullah “an invaluable ally” and “my good friend.” But a survey by the Pew Research Global Attitudes Project finds that only 14 percent of Jordanians regard the U.S. favorably.

Next week’s “shirt-sleeve diplomacy” in Rancho Mirage is an important exercise in maintaining a healthy relationship with one of our few allies in the fragile powder keg we call the Middle East.